Portland Oregon Pet Photographer | Doxzen Pet Photos | By Paula Wessells » Business

Wine & Wags | Salem, OR

Paula Wessells — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:26:15 +0000

Come see us this weekend in Salem, OR at the Garden World Wine & Wags event…

Garden World | 10506 Broadacres Road Northeast | Hubbard, OR 97032 | (503) 982-2380

360.624.0053 I paula@doxzenpetphotos.com I www.doxzenpetphotos.com/portfolio

Doxzen Pet Photos has a FRESH coat of paint! | Luxecetera

Paula Wessells — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:00:30 +0000

Back in November of 2009 when I first launched Doxzen Pet Photos I designed my own logo using [cringe] Photoshop. I knew this wasn’t the best solution but at the time it was what I could do. I always knew in the future that I would need to hire someone – a professional to help me design my brand. Plus after finding out how much time I spent programming a basic blog…I definitely wasn’t going to do that again!

After doing some research I partnered with Luxecetera. One of the main reasons I went Luxecetera is I knew my branding was going to be original and personal. If you look at their client work you can see that each client’s branding is different and reflects their style. I could tell by their work that they took the time to really get to know each of them.

Lisa has been an absolute dream to work with! And I feel like I received exactly what I wanted going into this process: original and personal. How much more could I ask for in this new logo? Yes, those are our three furbabies…

There are new icons, functional tabs for Facebook and Twitter, and colors. Be sure to click around and if you have any feedback [good or bad] let me know by commenting on this post. As my printed materials arrive I will be sharing those on the blog too – business cards, note cards, gift certificates and stay tuned for the newsletter!

Here is a peek into our lives at home – can anyone relate to the ‘cone of shame’?

360.624.0053 I paula@doxzenpetphotos.com I www.doxzenpetphotos.com/portfolio

Wedding Photographer | Knoxville TN

Paula Wessells — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:04:54 +0000

Before you freak out and think 1. I am going to start shooting weddings and 2. I am moving to Knoxville – I am doing neither! But I thought that blog post title would catch your attention. With the 2010 wedding season on the heels of many photographers I thought it would be fun to do a Q&A with some photog friends local and across the country.

First up is my friend Shannon Kelley in Knoxville, TN. I love Shannon’s work because she is not afraid to move – change her perspective when shooting. When you check out her work look at the different angles – sometimes I find myself trying to figure out where she was physically!

For the Bride & Groom:

What would you recommend to bride’s as some suggestions to make the photography for the day go smooth? Plan and then be flexible! Have a good timeline for the day, share it with your family and bridal party so they know when and where to be and then sit back and be flexible:)

Do you recommend the bride and groom see each other before the wedding or not? Recommend yes but find that its a little taboo here in the South…as in, they think I’m crazy

What should a bride look for in a photographer? Definitely if you are a good fit with each other personality wise. The photographer is with you all day and you will be so much more at ease if you know the person and trust their work and artistic vision

Why is important to make an investment in photography for your wedding? Because in the end, when all the flowers have wilted and cake digested,all you have are photos. They are what your children will look at as you tell them stories, what will hang in your home. I will never understand why some people just really don’t care. To me, this is THE most important part of the day aside from saying I do.

What are some things to watch out for when choosing a photographer? Look out for the people that buy a camera and set up shop the next day claiming they are a photographer. Get to know the person, find out about them and their history with photography

If you are newly engaged and live in the Knoxville, TN area be sure to give Shannon a ring – I am sure she will treat you to some good ol’ Southern hospitality!

E-mail us | View our portfolio | 360.828.1451 | DoxZen Pet Photos | Portland OR • Vancouver WA

360.624.0053 I paula@doxzenpetphotos.com I www.doxzenpetphotos.com/portfolio

WINNERS!

Paula Wessells — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:36:13 +0000

Good morning! We had such a great time yesterday and hope you did too -starting with the random drawings… Jesse likes to sleep in so Amos was up early this morning to help. He is actually pretty good at pulling out random names.

TWITTER Winner goes to

ChuckIt Toy goes to…

And the Kevin Kubota book Digital Photography BootCamp…

Congrats to everyone!!! Please contact us directly at paula@doxzenpetphotos.com to work through the details

Now to our FACEBOOK photo contest! Loved all the entries and feel free to keep on posting your pet pictures up there…drumroll…..

MOST Adorable goes to… Scrappy!

MOST Creative goes toooooo…Cosmo!

and BEST Overall goes to….Bandit!

Congrats!!!!! Please give big dog kisses to the winners and give them a treat from me! Contact me so we can work the details out of the gift certificate or the donation.

Thank you again for all of your support and have a happy weekend!

Dog kisses – PW

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Thank you!

Paula Wessells — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:00:44 +0000

Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone who stopped by, emailed, twittered, facebook’d and commented! We are really looking forward to meeting all of you and hopefully capturing some moments for you.

All the winners for the contests will be announced by 10:00 AM PDT tomorrow (Saturday, November 21st), so be sure to check back!

Goodnight and enjoy your weekend and we will be back on Monday!
Dog kisses – PW

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Introducing the Leader of our pack!

Paula Wessells — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:01:28 +0000

Well at least we let him think that…

KIRK (just like captain Kirk)

Favorite Food: steak from Big Lou’s
Favorite Pastime: riding Trials dirt bikes
Favorite toy: Trials dirt bike
Naughtiest Deed: tracking dog poop on his shoe all around the house
Pet Peeve: having to go to kids birthday parties

We love you and appreciate all the support – couldn’t have done any of this without you!

Dog kisses – PW

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Giveaway for photographers

Paula Wessells — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:39 +0000

The amount of information on the World Wide Web for photographers is down right overwhelming. Different opinions, Canon or Nikon, film or digital, actions and presets, Lightroom2 or Aperture…I have been lucky to meet some wonderful photographers down this path of starting this business. They have been willing to share information about the things that they have learned along the way. So that is what I plan on doing here on the blog. If you are photographer just starting out (yea! we can make this journey together) or thinking about it be sure check back and also check out my resource section for photographers.

One of the best tips that I received from this gal was to buy this book: Digital Photography Boot Camp by Kevin Kubota. She also advised before taking it home drop it off at Kinkos to have spiral bound. Once you have it home – read it all the way through, breathe it, live it and adopt the whole work flow process.

Because I was just staring out I had no idea about the complication of post production workflow. But as I was working through Kevin Kubota’s process it became very clear how it could be a total mess. Thank you Allison for this tip – valuable and probably saved me years of anguish!

So in the spirit of giving, I have one copy of this book to giveaway – to enter into this random drawing leave a comment on this post:

Tell me how long you have been a professional photographer OR
if you are aspiring to become one
What/who do you photograph?

Dog Kisses – PW

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DoxZen Pet Photos – why ‘DoxZen’?

Paula Wessells — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:30:02 +0000

I have received many questions in regards to the name of our company. What does it mean? how did you think it up? I personally think that this is the most difficult process of starting a business – naming/branding. It depends on so many factors and sometimes your personal needs have to step aside to business ones. My process wasn’t a long drawn out one, since I had ideas swirling in my mind…

The symbol or crest that is used in my logo is a Japanese Mon. The one above is specifically my grandfather’s family Kamon or Monodokoro called the Katabami. In true Japanese style it is simple and clean, perfect for two color process. It also holds personal meaning to me. I have been thinking of my grandfather a lot since his recent death this past fall and I know he would be proud that I was using the family Kamon in our business.

The word DoxZen I came across several years ago and put on my license plate. It is a real name believe it or not!But for me it has two meanings…

Dox is short for Doxie, which is short for Dachshund.

Zen – our pets are zen. They are always present, in the now. I adore their ability to forgive and the amount of trust they show us. They are a representation of love, charity, joy, delight, and simplicity. Even if they have been abused, starved, or beaten, when you come to them with compassion and a soft voice, you can see their tails wag a little. Zen also ties in with my family Kamon!

So why didn’t I use my name? This was actually my second and most logical choice. But there have been issues with ‘Wessells’ name for me – I have had the pleasure of having it for nine years. It has been nine years of mis-spelling and to complex to pronounce correctly. Pronounced somewhat like: Whe – sells and spelled with two ‘e’, two ‘l’ and three ‘s’… yes, three. I had to make a business decision here, not a personal one.

What was your process and why? If you don’t have a business give it some thought as to what you would do – you never know when that opportunity for you to start something new for yourself might come up!

Dog kisses – PW

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Doxzen Pet Photos Web Buttons

Paula Wessells — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:30:16 +0000

We would love to have you spread the word about DoxzenPetPhotos.com! We have made up some buttons that you can add to your website or blog:

HTML Code:

GIVEAWAY

A ChuckIt! This has to go down in history as one of those amazing inventions – brilliant. Amos loves his and sometimes he brings the ball back, sometimes he loses interest before he even finds the ball… but at least we don’t have to pick up a slimmed ball!

How To Win:

Post one of the Doxzen Pet Photos badges to your website or blog
Leave a comment on this post with a link to your site and that will enter you in the random drawing for a ChuckIt!
Don’t have a website or blog? That’s okay – leave a comment on this post and tell us what kind of dog(s) you have and their names
Winners will be announced at 6:00 PM PDT

Check out ChuckIt’s website! They are looking for photos of your pets using ChuckIt product – you could win $50 worth of fetch toys.

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Portland Oregon pet photographer | Paula Wessells

Paula Wessells — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:30:31 +0000

Let’s start off this Grand Opening with a Q&A with me! I had some colleagues and friends ask me some questions over the last couple of months. Some of the questions were so good you will see them pop up again with our expert interviews later in the day!

What inspired you to launch Doxzen Pet Photos?
I love animals and I know there are other people out there that feel the same way and want to be able to capture them in photos so they can remember them forever.

Why specialize in outdoor photos vs. studio shots?
I specialize in the natural environment for a couple of reasons. One, outdoors or in their own home is what they are used to. I want them to feel at ease, it’s bad enough having a big lens pointing at them. Second, studios can be intimidating for the animal and also for me! Flashes, bright lights, and the owners are more nervous too – they never know what kind of mischief their pet is going to get into at an unfamiliar place. Don’t get me wrong though – there is a gorgeous style to studio shots and if your pet is comfortable with it go for it!

What is your perfect day?
It would be a day at the Oregon coast with all my dogs and friends. I think Jesse can give you a good mental picture… Yes, Jesse has his own beach chair thanks to my friend Lynda, compete with towel for shade. He also likes someone to dust out the sand before he jumps in – no one likes sand in their ‘swim trunks’!

What is it about dogs you love?
99% of the time they are just good to the core. You are never going to find a human relationship that emulates that of your dog relationship. One of my favorite quotes: “My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.”

What is it about cats you love?
First, their independence – for the most part they can really take care of themselves. Second, gracefulness – I have never seen a clumsy cat!

You mentioned capturing life’s moments since pet’s lives are way too short – why should readers get photos of their pet’s taken?
How many photos do you have of yourself with a childhood pet? I consider myself lucky, I have a handful from three years old on up. I want to give people more than just a handful of pictures of their cherished pets. I want to give them fond memories in the form of art – every time you walk by the canvas or framed photo it brings on a smile. We need more of that in our lives, right?

What was that one WOW moment when you realized that you were doing something good?
Early on I was taking photos of my sisters black labs, Baron and Ebony. Both these labs have been in my sisters’ life longer than her first child! Not long after the photo shoot, about two weeks, Ebony passed away from bone cancer. Those were the last photos taken of Ebony and they will last a lifetime for my sister and brother in law and also as a remembrance for my niece. That’s good.

Who would you consider a mentor? Which photographers do you admire and wish to emulate?
My first mentor would be my husband Kirk. He is a business genius and always keeps a good temperature on things. Photographers I admire are – hands down, Allison Tyler-Jones, for people (my dogs LOVE her though, especially Jesse) and Ann Hamilton for pets. She does weddings too but I am partial to her pet portraits.

What makes you different from other pet photographers?
Time isn’t of the essence when it comes to my photo shoots. I know light is important, weather, etc. but I need to make sure that the pet is comfortable with me. I take the time to get to know the pet, converse with owner – hearing stories about the pet is the biggest insight into their personalities. Then when it comes time to get the camera out I am looking for just the right look – the look where the owner says in the review “you totally captured his/her personality in this photo!”

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